THE DARK WISDOMHow design manipulates the

way we think, feel and behave

Nearly all of our thoughts, behaviors, convictions, and attitudes are shaped by behavioral designers. We have a duty to fight evil design, discover bad design and embrace our dark wisdom to manipulate the world for good.

DARK WISDOM:

Rules, principles and tactics

to manipulate our thoughts and actions

BAD DESIGN

EVIL DESIGN

GOOD DESIGN

Worst!!

EVIL DESIGNERSuse behavioral design principles to install power

1

Design procedure for hope

Laurent Binet - HHHH

Design for terror

Framing as evil design force

Georges Lakoff - Don’t Think of an Elephant

BAD DESIGNERSBadly designed systems are full of perverse incentives

2

Banking is designed like a game. Bankers act like gamers

Joris Luyendijk - dit kan toch niet waar zijn

Rank and Yank

The design of the system keeps the system in place

Every system is full of perverse triggers The Shirky Principle

Paul Verhaeghe - Identiteit

“The Utopian in its full glory is nothing more than a dry bureaucrat who arranges both the landscape and the soul according to his preference. His ‘Fantasy Product’

demonstrates a remarkable lack of imagination as well as a surprising!—!if not alarming- limited arsenal of themes .. . […]. In his mind the world looks like a

chessboard, populated by pawns that move when and where he wants them to move. Nobody can escape this neurotic paternalism, which!—!according to Kant!—!

is the worst form of despotism one can possibly imagine”.

Tommy Wieringa

Tommy Wieringa - De Staat als Pooier

GOOD DESIGNERSHow we behavioral designers can manipulate the world into a better place

3

Richard Rorty

“We resent the idea that we shall have to wait for the strong to turn their piggy little eyes to the suffering of the weak, slowly open their dried-up little hearts. We desperately hope there is something stronger and more powerful that will hurt the strong if they do not do these things.”

Richard Rorty - Human Rights, Nationality an Sentimentality

One tiny intervention in choice architecture could save thousands of lives

http://www.sueamsterdam.com/blog/de-grote-manipulatie/

Persuasion versus Seduction Do Gooders should learn to stop persuading

http://www.sueamsterdam.com/blog/de-twee-dodelijkste-wapens-voor-het-verleiden/

Reframe Tax Optimization as greed an theft Reframe tax as membership fee . Give privileges with social status

Put a behavioral economist in policy making Holland’s addicted to availibility heuristics

http://www.sueamsterdam.com/blog/nederlands-obsessie-met-regels/

The best diet is the one that tells you to eliminate a couple of things, not the one that makes you think all the time

BONUS

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tom@sueamsterdam.com

SUE is a Behavioral Design Agency

We use design, technology and data to turn deep understanding of the connected consumer into business

advantage for our clients

tom@sueamsterdam.com